Grants help create 400 Liverpool jobs
LIVERPOOL’S local enterprise partnership (LEP) said 400 jobs have been created in the region by grants worth £4m.
Some 17 businesses have secured money from the Business Growth Grant programme, funded by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF) and administered by the LEP which said the grants had attracted £24.5m from the private sector.
The grants have ranged in size from £60,000 to £830,000 and have been used for a range of projects such as expanding product facilities, upgrading software, and buying new equipment.
Bootle based WJ Leech, a manufacturer and designer of trailer curtains and hardware for the logistics sector, secured £85,000 for new printing equipment.
Managing director David Leech said: “This printer has catapulted us into the 21st century. Our production times have fallen dramatically and we can now produce trailer curtains with the most intricate designs in a fraction of the time it would previously have taken us. It is a complete game changer for us and the new capacity we have is filling up quickly.
“It allows us to provide the very best quality to our customers in the shortest possible time. Our original system of hand painting stencilled designs remains a key part of our business but with customers demanding ever more imaginative designs and messages on the trailers, this printer allows us to remain competitive and keep growing as a company.”
As well as the 400 new jobs, the LEP said the grants had “secured” a further 400. Further cash is available and the programme is expected to support a total of 2,000 jobs.
Chair of the Liverpool City Region LEP Robert Hough said: “The grants are designed to unlock private sector investment in the region and it is clear that this round of funding has delivered on that objective. We scrutinise the bids we receive with our local authority partners to ensure they are going to have a positive economic impact and would urge businesses looking to invest to contact as soon as possible as the majority of the funding is now allocated on this programme.”
A Business Growth Grant can fund between 10-20% of a project and can include capital expenditure such as new plant, equipment, buildings, or adaptations; investment in new technologies; systems; software and training.
